Staying Strong
by annajmac989
Summary: This is the story of Ginny as she struggles to stay strong during her 6th year. Rated T for cursing and torture. I hope you like it, it's my first fic.
1. Chapter 1

A bright red light illuminates the dark night, and Harry let's out another agonized scream. Ginny struggles against the large man holding her, but knows it's no use. Even with eyes filled to the brim with tears, she can tell Harry is close to death; or insanity.

"Stop it!" Ginny shrieks. "Please, I'll do anything!"

Voldemort only laughs and points his wand at Harry again. "Crucio!"

Harry writhes on the ground, but this time makes no sound. This worries Ginny. He's shaking uncontrollably, he's sweating and panting, his face is as white as a ghost. But his eyes are the worst. His beautiful emerald green eyes don't widen with fear or protest as Ginny is taken from the man holding her and pushed towards Voldemort to be tortured. No, his eyes are blank; dead.

"Harry?" Ginny whispers as she passes Harry. "Harry do you remember me?" A tear rolls down her face as Harry screws up his eyes in confusion and shakes his head.

"Now it's your turn, girl," says Voldemort with a sneer. "Crucio!"

Ginny lets out a piercing scream and wakes up. She's on the couch in the Burrow sitting room. The rest of her family is asleep.

Ginny sits up, takes a shaky breath, and wipes a tear from her face.

"_It's alright_," she tells herself, _it was just a dream. Harry remembers you, and he loves you. You _know_ he does! But he's gone. And he might never see you again. . ._

This thought brings on an entirely new fountain of tears.

Hermione, one of her first friends, is gone. Perhaps never to be seen again. Ron, her dear brother, is gone. Who knows if he's alive? And Harry, her first crush, the love of her life, the bravest man she knows, is gone.

Ginny couldn't bear the thought of Hogwarts without Harry. She also couldn't bear the thought of a Hogwarts run by Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Death Eaters. The words bring back terrible memories from the night before that Ginny would love to forget. Ginny creeps to the window, and sure enough, they're there. Even in the early- morning shadows you can see them in their black cloaks and masks. They all stand there dutifully watching the house, as if Harry is dumb enough to come back.

_I wish he would come back_, Ginny though rather guiltily. She felt rather embarrassed as she swiped another tear from her eye.

"You _must_ stop thinking like this Ginny," she whispered to herself sternly. "Be strong. Be strong for your family. Be strong for Harry."

"Ginny?" asked her mother from the mattress on the floor. The family had decided last night that they would all sleep together. Not that it would protect them any. Just to provide a false sense of security.

"My, you're up early, dear. Well, I might as well start breakfast, I'm not going back to sleep!"

Molly smiled at her daughter, but Ginny heard her sniffle when she had turned her back.

Ginny automatically felt terrible for only thinking about herself earlier. Her mother was obviously hurting as much as she was.

After breakfast, Ginny decided to while away time by taking a walk in the orchard. She sat beneath a tree and wondered what she was going to do during the month she had before school starts. Bill and Fleur were moving to a cottage near the beach, Charlie was still in Romania, Percy wasn't talking to the family of course, Fred and George were busy with the shop, and Ron was gone.

_I suppose I can practice Quidditch,_ thought Ginny miserably, _but I doubt there will even be any teams this year._

Ginny couldn't wait until she could see Luna and Neville again. But Hogwarts was not going to be the same without Harry, Ron, and Hermione.


	2. Chapter 2

It's amazing how slowly time passes when you are sad and lonely. Ginny has never been so sad and lonely, and to her time passes as slowly as a snail climbing up a mountain. She even begins to look forward to the one evening a week when Bill and Fleur come to the Burrow for dinner.

Ginny spends most of her time in the orchard; riding her broom or thinking about Harry. She curses loneliness and boredom, as it gives her plenty of time to reminisce all of her good times with him.

_I love him, _she decides,_ I truly love him. I've had lots of boyfriends, and I've liked all of them, but I've never truly _loved_ any of them. I can't see myself being with anyone but Harry; he's the only person I _want_ to be with. I'm sure he still loves me, even if he did break up with me. It was only to protect me, right? Or has he met someone else? Is that why he broke up with me? Did he lie about trying to protect me? No, stop thinking like that, Ginny. You know he loves you!_

Just as Ginny was beginning to think August was never going to come to an end, it was the twenty eighth, and she still had none of her school books.

"Good heavens, Ginny! You have none of your school things! I must talk to your father and see if he works tomorrow. If he doesn't, we'll go to Diagon Alley then, but it's much too dangerous for the two of us to go right now. Perhaps I'll see if Bill wants to go too. . . Ginny, can I take a look at your school list, please?"

Ginny dashes upstairs to look for the unopened, Hogwarts-sealed envelope. She finds it under her bed, next to a photograph of her and Harry laughing together.

"I miss you," she murmurs sadly to the grinning Harry.

"Here it is, Mum!" she says, passing the yellow parchment to her mother. Molly quickly scans the list, then looks up at Ginny in confusion.

"Ginny, you're required to take Muggle Studies."

"What?"

"Muggle studies, it's required."

"Why is that? It's never been required before!"

"It must be what the new teacher wants, since the old one resigned...

"But that's weird, look- it says, ' "Muggle Studies book will be supplied" '. That's very strange. But it's one less book that I have to buy! And look at this- ' "Defense Against the Dark Arts book will be supplied" ' That's so strange! We'll, I talked to your father over Floo Powder, and he doesn't have to work tomorrow. We will leave for Diagon Alley at ten."

The colorful shops and brightly decorated window displays that had one made up Diagon Alley are long gone, replaced with Wanted: Harry Potter posters and the gray dust of despair.

"Alright, Arthur," says a nervous Molly to her husband, "we need to go to Flourish and Blotts for some books, then to the Apothecary for potion ingredients. I think that's it, unless you need new robes Ginny?"

"Nope, I'm good."

"Okay then-to Flourish and Blotts!"

"Could you find these books for me, sir?" Mrs. Weasley asks an employee after handing him the list.

Thankfully, she only had time to cast few nervous glances around the shop before the man was back with Ginny's books.

"Thanks very much," Molly says. She quickly pays, then grabs Arthur and Ginny by the arms and drags them out of the store.

They rush down the deserted street, then they enter the Apothecary.

"Arthur, you get a jar of snake fangs, Ginny, you get the opossum tails, and I'll get the toad eyeballs."

After quickly paying for their items, the Weasleys Apparated home, glad to be rid of the Death Eater infested town.

**So how do you think I did guys? Any constructive criticism? Thanks so much for the reviews, please feel free to review more! The next chapter should come soon:) PS, in the next chapter, I'm changing from present tense to past tense. I don't even know why I started writing in present tense, but I feel like it's kind of awkward to read, so I'm changing **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! I'm so incredibly sorry that I haven't updated in so long, my life has been extremely hectic, and I have been kind of doubtful about this story. Do you guys like it? Is it worth continuing? Please let me know so that I'm not wasting my time. Thanks for the reviews! Please review again:)** **The next chapter should be coming tomorrow!**

Though she knew Hogwarts was going to be very different this year, Ginny's heart still swelled with joy when she saw the scarlet Hogwarts Express. The white smoke that filled the air clouded her vision, and when Luna suddenly appeared in front of her, Ginny jumped about a foot.

"Hello, Ginny, did you have a nice summer?"

"No, actually, it was awful!" Ginny expected Luna to ask what had made her summer awful, but she merely stood there staring dreamily into the distance.

"Er, fancy trying to find a compartment?"

"Oh, yes. I've already talked to Neville, and he said he would join us."

"Okay, let me just say 'bye' to my parents."

Ginny turned to her mother and father who were chatting with Mrs. Longbottom a little ways away.

"Mum, Dad, the train leaves in a few minutes, I should go find a compartment."

Both her parent's faces grew grave.

"Are you sure you have everything, dear? All your books, clothes, school supplies?" Ginny nodded. "Well then, have a fun trip, learn a lot, write every day, and stay safe!" Her mother pulled her into a warm, tight hug.

"Have fun at school, sweetheart," said her father quietly, giving her a kiss on the forehead, "and stay safe. Don't mess with the new teachers."

"Okay, Dad. I love you! I love you, Mum, bye!"

Ginny scrambled onto the train just as it started to move. She waved to her parents, grabbed her luggage, flipped her long hair off of her shoulder, and set off to find Neville and Luna.

By the time she found them, her face was sweaty, her arms were aching, and she was panting: they were hidden away in the last compartment of the long, green-carpeted train.

"Neville!" cried Ginny, gad to see his round, friendly face. "How are you?"

"I'm alright, thanks. How was your holiday?"

"Um, it was. . .Lonely. Very lonely."

Everyone fell silent, Ginny knew they were all pondering the same thing. After a few moments of quiet, Neville spoke up.

"So, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are gone. Can anyone guess where they are, or what they're doing?"

"I know it has something to do with You-Know-Who," murmured Ginny, "Harry let that one slip. But I don't know anything else. Whatever they're doing though, it's dangerous, and I'm worried."

"Well I'm not," said Luna confidently.

"What?"

"I'm not worried."

"Why not?! Luna, this is You-Know-Who we're talking about!"

"Well Harry has beaten him how many times now? Five times? I'm sure he can do it again. Worrying isn't going to help him, Ginny; you have to have faith in him. And I know having faith in him isn't going to help him either, Ginny, but it will help you! Harry is very brave, he's a good fighter, and he has two friends that will help him through anything. So believe in him, he wouldn't want you worrying about him. I'm sure Harry just wants you to worry about yourself. He still loves you Ginny, I know it. So you better not go snogging anyone else while he's away!"

Ginny laughed at Luna; she sounded so unlike herself, yet so wise, like a true Ravenclaw.

"Thanks, Luna. You should be a therapist. Just so you know, I wasn't planning on dating anyone, I still love Harry. But I'm afraid the little 'not worrying' part of your monologue is way easier said than done."


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah so I lied, I didn't upload "tomorrow", sorry! Things got a little crazy because yesterday was my sister's graduation party, and I had lots of cooking and cleaning to do, fun fun. But here it is, hope you like it, please, please comment! **I **really, really love constructive criticism, hint hint;)**

It was dark by the time the Hogwarts Express arrived in Hogsmeade station; the sky was filled with big, threatening clouds. Even though it was stormy almost every year on September first, Ginny thought this storm was more dreary than normal, as if it was sad she had succumbed to the castle's falsely welcoming doors.

It was the first time Ginny was actually dreading the the school year; the first time she was afraid of the beautiful castle. She remembered her first year: how she couldn't wait to get out of her house, how she couldn't wait to stand out from her six brothers, how she couldn't wait to become best friends with Harry. _That never actually happened though,_ thought Ginny with a wry smile_. But I guess everything worked out in the end. Until he left. . ._

Ginny cursed herself for letting her thoughts stray to Harry. _Luna's right, there's no need for me to be worried! Harry is going to be fine! _But a small part of her brain told Ginny she had a right to be worried.

_I guess I can be worried, I mean, I am his girlfriend! Well, ex-girlfriend. But he still likes me, he just broke up with me to keep me safe. Or at least that's what he told if he just said that so I wouldn't get my feelings hurt? What if he found someone else?! _As much as she tried to fight them off, these dark thoughts hovered over Ginny's brain like a balloon tied to her wrist.

The trio grabbed their trunks and quickly sloshed through the puddles outside, eager to get out of the cold rain. They joined Seamus, who was sitting alone in a carriage looking utterly lost without his best friend Dean.

"Seamus can we join you?" asked Neville quietly.

"Yeah, of course!" Seamus said with a grin, but once everyone sat down, the phony smile was covered with a cloud of sadness.

The ride to the castle was quick, and Ginny was glad to get out of the drafty carriage and into the comforting warmth of the school. When she entered the Great Hall, her eyes immediately found the staff table. Sitting there was Flitwick, Slughorn, Sprout, and Hagrid. Those were the ones she recognized. Sitting on the opposite side of the long table were the new teachers, and they all _had_ to be Death Eaters . They all wore the same black robes; they all had a certain look about them, like they hadn't been joyful, truly joyful, for years.

There was one women and one man. They looked like siblings: they were both short and round, with beady eyes.

And there was Snape, sitting in Dumbledore's old chair, his greasy black hair hanging like a curtain around his face.

Ginny sat down just as McGonnegal brought in the first years. _Why are there so few of them?_ Ginny asked herself. But then she remembered the new blood status rule. _Poor muggle borns. . ._

Ginny was just about to point this out to Neville when the Sorting Hat cleared his throat and began to sing:

Place me on your head, I'll tell you where you need to go

For I'm the Sorting Hat and there is nothing I don't know.

Will you be a Ravenclaw, witty, smart, and wise,

Or perhaps a Griffindor, who's courage never dies.

Maybe you're a Hufflepuff, hardworking, loyal, kind.

Or you could be a Slytherin, more cunning than all the rest,

Put me on and soon you'll know,

Just take the simple test.

Now you should know that I'm not just here to entertain,

I'm really here to give you all a grave warning:

You're world is a building, you are the bricks,

Three years a storm has been brewing,

Don't fall for its tricks.

Come together,

Keep the building strong,

Get over your differences,

This is where you belong.

There was a stunned silence when the hat was finished. Never before had it been so blatant about the warning it was trying to convey. It wanted everyone, even the Slytherins, to come together and overthrow You-Know-Who. _Like that's going to happen,_ thought Ginny with a sad little laugh. _Asking the Slytherins to side with us against You-Know-Who? That hat's going senile! I'm not saying that wouldn't be cool, though. The whole school, with the exception of some of the teachers-_ she glowered at Snape- _ siding with the Order instead of You-Know-Who! We might actually stand a chance. But no, every one is too worried about their own necks to care about anyone else._

Snape interrupted her thoughts when he stood up to give his speech. _That should be Dumbledore up there,_ thought Ginny savagely. _But instead, it's that that nasty, slimy, murderous son of a-_

"Attention," murmured Snape silkily, "there have been a few changes in the staffing arrangements. Professor Alecto Carrow with be replacing professor Burbage as the Muggle Studies teacher." The fat little woman stood up with a gloating smile. "Muggle Studies is compulsory for everyone. Professor Amycus Carrow will be replacing me as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teahcer." The fat man stood up this time. "Now, let the sorting begin."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I have posted a chapter, I've been pretty busy. As always, I beg you to leave comments and constructive criticism! Enjoy:) **

Ginny's first lesson of the school year was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall; she was glad, for she hoped McGonagall might give them a hint about who the Carrows were. Ginny was wrong, however. When McGonagall arrived tight-lipped and nostril-flared to the classroom, she didn't give the class a hint, she gave them a speech.  
"Now, since none of you are Slytherins I'm not worried at all about giving you this information, though I doubt it will come as much of a shock to you," McGonagall began. She paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and pressed on. "The Carrows are Death Eaters. Dangerous ones. But they're not cold, quiet, and serious like most. They are loud, obnoxious, and love to amuse themselves. Get in trouble and they shall punish you in a way that is most entertaining for them to watch. Do not get on their bad side.  
"Do not believe anything they tell you, either. Though it might make sense in their twisted minds, anything they tell you is the opposite of what any decent human being should believe."  
Everyone sat in silence, stunned. Professor McGonagall almost never never spoke ill of her fellow teachers, yet there she was, telling them to not even listen to the Carrows.  
McGonagall, who had been pacing, marched back to her desk as if nothing had happened.  
"Please, turn to page 4 and read the review on Vanishing Spells. Once you're finished, kindly come up to my desk and take one of these badgers, you'll then attempt to Vanish them. No talking, please!"

Ginny left McGonagall's classroom an hour later with the uncomfortable feeling of foreboding. Yes, she had Vanished her badger on the first try, and yes, McGonnagall had given Griffindor ten points, but her next class was Muggle Studies with Carrow.  
Ginny sidled cautiously through the classroom door, but her new professor was not there. She saw that the Griffindors shared Muggle Studies with the Ravenclaws, so she strode in and took the predictably empty seat next to Luna.  
"Hey,Luna. How are you?"  
"Oh, hello, Ginny!" said Luna, raising her eyebrows and looking amazed that Ginny was there. "I'm quite well, although some mean boy stole my Crumple-Horned Snorkack socks. How are you?"  
Ginny opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a shout of shrill laughter. Professor Carrow had entered the classroom.  
"These classes are a lot smaller than they were when I was at Hogwarts," said Alecto with a grin. She started slowly walking up the aisle, making awkward eye contact with anyone brave enough to look at her.  
"The smaller the classes are, the less stupid kids I have to teach. And that's all thanks to Professor Snape. He got rid of the lunatic Dumbledore, who was the only reason those filthy, slimy Mudbloods were allowed to be educated. With Dumbledore gone, the Mudbloods have no savior, and they're being rounded up and taken to Azkaban, where they belong."  
Ginny felt her face grow hot; she thought of Hermione ans hoped she was OK.  
"But I'm not here to talk about Mudbloods," said Alecto with an evil chuckle. "Oh no, I'm here to talk about even dirtier, dumber animals: Muggles."  
Ginny could hardly hear Alecto anymore, the blood pounding in her ears was too loud. She tried to stay calm, but knew by her shaking limbs that her collected demeanor was about to disappear.  
"Back in the 1800's, wizards and witches didn't have to hide just for the foul Muggles' safety! They were allowed to be out in the open. Then the Muggles started becoming cowards-I AM TALKING YOUNG LADY!"  
Ginny had become so enraged it was almost involuntary when she raised her hand, interrupting Carrow's lecture.  
"I'm sorry, professor," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice," I'm just a little confused. Wouldn't your Muggle parents be a little angry with you for giving this little speech?" _Oh crap, I've really done it now! This is exactly was Professor McGonagall said _not_ to do, Ginny!  
_Alecto's face was furious for a few seconds, but then she smiled even sweeter than Ginny and said, "You should be looking forward to my brother's class, dear. You can have your detention then, because he has a great lesson planned!"  
Alecto returned to her speech about Muggles, but Ginny could hardly hear. One, because she was still so angry, and two, because she was terrified of what her detention would be.  
_Will they kill me? _she wondered._ No, they probably won't want to kill too many must be torture then. _Her stomach twisted painfully at the thought.  
When Muggle Studies had ended, Ginny walked as slowly as she could, but all too soon ended up in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom door. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door, hoping Amycus wasn't there yet. She was wrong.  
He stood at his desk, staring straight at her. With a high pitched giggle he waved his wand, and ropes suddenly bound Ginny's wrists and ankles. She fell to the floor and was paralyzed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! OK, so the reason I started writing Harry Potter fanfic (other than because I'm obsessed with Harry Potter haha:) was to get constructive criticism to help me in my writing! And while I get lots of views, I hardly get any reviews:( A big thank you to the wonderful people who **_**have**_** reviewed!  
But, please, review with some criticism! Love it? Hate it? Let me know! :) Oh and PS, there will be some cursing in this chapter, so I changed the rating!**

When Ginny awoke, she was tied around the middle to a chair. Sitting at their desks were the Slytherin and Griffindor sixth years.  
"Ahh, she's awake!" said Amycus in his wheezy voice. "I was just telling the class, Miss Weasley, how to perform the Needle Curse. This curse is the first step in learning how to perform the Cruciatus Curse, which you are unfortunately too unadvanced to cast. Miss Weasley here," he turned back to the class, "will be our dummy to practice on, since she earned a detention."  
Ginny's stomach started twisting in fright, but she wouldn't let it show on her face. She gritted her teeth and stared straight at the class. The Slytherins, she noticed, looked excited about this lesson. The Griffindors looked wary and disgusted.  
One of Ginny's friends, Kamera Golding, stood up, folded her arms, and stuck out her chin.  
"_I'm_ not doing it. That's _barbaric!"_ Amycus smiled.  
"Very well Miss...?"  
"Golding."  
"Very well Miss Golding, you can be the dummy for our next lesson."  
_Dammit, not Kamera too!_ Ginny thought furiously.  
Kamera huffed and sat her chin on her hand, black curls spilling all over her desk.  
"Now, the incantation for this curse is _Nefeldo Pinadracus._ Repeat after me: _Nefeldo Pinadracus._Good. While saying the incantation, you should make a tiny circular movement with your mand, like so."  
The class, some excitedly, some apologetically, took out their wands and performed the circular movement.  
"Good job Slytherins," said Carrow, ignoring the Griffindors.  
"Now," he chuckled, "let's try the curse on Miss Weasley." Ginny's hands started trembling and her breathing quickened. The class, with the exception of Kamera and most of the other Griffindors, pointed their wands at Ginny; after a "Go!" from Amycus, the class said, "_Nefeldo Pinadracus!"_ and Ginny gasped.  
The pain wasn't as bad as she expected, but it was still terrible. At first they only stabbed her left hand, the needles. They were invisible, or maybe they weren't really there. But the minuscule red dots that they left behind were completely visible. The dots soon began to bubble, and crimson blood rolled off of her hand and onto the stone floor.  
The second attempt at the spell was worse. The sharp invisible needles punctured the delicate skin on Ginny's palms and finger tips, and all the way up her arms. As hard as she tried, Ginny couldn't stay quiet. She let out a piercing scream and Amycus giggled. To Ginny, the needles felt like swords stabbing her body all the way down to the bone, then slashing her pale skin as they are pulled out again.  
It felt like hours before Amycus, noticing the large pool of blood under Ginny's chair, dismissed the class and left the room giggling. Kamera ran up the stone steps just as Ginny leaned over the side of her chair and vomited.  
"Oh my God Ginny I'm so sorry! We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey, like NOW!"  
"That slimy bastard," was all Ginny could whisper before blacking out.

"Ginny!? Ginny can you hear me!? Ginny answer me!"  
"Miss Golding, would you please be quiet and let my patient rest!?"  
Too late. Ginny groaned and opened her eyes. Her body was so sore she wouldn't have been surprised to see black and purple bruises covering her skin. But there were no bruises. Actually, the tiny red spots from the needles were all gone, her skin was completely clear.  
"Ginny! Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Kamera nearly yelled, making her quiet boyfriend, Mark, wince and then roll his eyes.  
"Yeah, I'm alright," Ginny lied.  
"Miss Weasley, you are free to go, but please take it easy for the rest of the day or the soreness will get worse, OK?"  
Ginny nodded and gingerly slid off of the abnormally white hospital bed, eager to peel off her bloodstained robes.  
"You missed dinner," said Kamera, her unruly hair falling into her face, "so I brought some to the common room for you."  
Ginny, Kamera, and Mark set off down the torch-lit corridor. When they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Kamera gave the password ("Flibbergit") and Mark courteously helped Ginny through the portrait hole.  
This reminded Ginny of how she hated when Dean did this, which made her wonder where Dean was, or if he was even alive. Of course, wondering if someone was alive automatically made Ginny think of Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Surely it would have been in the Prophet if any of them had died? But what if they had died of natural causes, instead of by Voldemort's wand? Bitten by a venomous snake? Caught a deadly case of pneumonia? Struck by lightning? The Prophet wouldn't know about that. . .  
_Bloody hell, Ginny quit being a stupid pessimist! They're fine. They're fine. They're fine! THEY'RE FINE!  
_Ginny was so preoccupied with her thoughts, she hardly noticed when she walked straight into Neville.  
"Oh, sorry Nev- Merlin's pants, what happened to your face!?" One of Neville's eyes was blackened, the other was puffy and red, and there was a bloody gash on his cheek.  
"Oh I ermm, got a detention from Alecto," he said, cringing.  
"Why?"  
"Well, I stood up during her speech about Muggles and said, 'You are an abhorrent bitch.' And apparently she didn't like that. . ." Ginny laughed.  
"Abhorrent? That's a Hermione word!" Then the smile slid off her face.  
"Neville, we have to do something! We can't let them treat us like this without fighting back!" Neville nodded slowly and began fumbling with something in his pocket.  
"I think it's time to resurrect Dumbledore's Army_."_

_**Again, please review! :) *puppy face***_


	7. Chapter 7

Dear Harry,I'm not sure why I'm writing you this letter. It would

be confiscated by the Carrows before I even tied it to the owl's leg if

I was daft enough to try to send it. I guess it's just nice to be able

to spill out my emotions (like in my first year, oh God!) to something

that won't reply back; something that won't criticize me for being a

stupid, weak, winy, lovesick, hormonal teenage girl. I remember in

my first year when I was terrified of talking to you, yet it was the

thing I wanted the most. Now the thing I want the most is to talk to

you, but that's also what terrifies me the most. Huh, guess things

haven't changed much. But in my first year I was terrified of talkig to

you because I was madly in love with you. Now, (though I'm still madly

in love with you) I'm terrified of talking to you because the only way

I could talk to you was if you were here. Which (I'll guiltily admit,

I want you to be here) would be extremely dangerous for you. Come

back Harry! No, don't you dare come back, you'll be killed! Come

back, I want to see you and Ron and Hermione! Damn it, Ginny, shut

up! Stop being weak! You're a Weasley, remember? You're a Gryffindor!

It's hard Harry. Being strong. I know my burdens are nothing compared

to yours, but I have to admit it's still tough. Sometimes the

cowardly, selfish part of me wants to just put my head down in class

and listen as the Carrows insult Muggles and Muggleborns and teach Dark

Magic. But then the other part of me, the Gryffindor part, the Weasley

part, tells me to stand up for what's right even if it will hurt me.

Well, I've already done that! I just feel like I'm betreying you if

I don't stand up for what's right, since that's what you've done your

whole life. Sometimes I actually feel like I'm helping you in your

secret mission. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing tonight. Neville

has something great planned. I'll write one of these pointless

letters soon. Maybe if I ever see you again I'll give then to you. Stay

safe. Kill Voldemort. I'll love you forever, Ginny The

sun was just setting as Ginny finished her letter. The red common room

looked ablaze with fire as the token rays poured in through the

windows. Reluctantly Ginny pulled out her potions homework and wracked

her brain trying to remember all the ingredients to Amortentia.

Amortentia. The most powerful love potion in the world. She remembered

her lesson from a few days before, when they had learned about

Amortentia. Ginny could hardly listen, she was too distracted by the

wonderful smells bubbling out of the sample potion in front of her :The

intoxicating smell if her mother's thick smell of smoke

coming from a crackling homey smell of pies baking in the

wooden scent of a fresh scent of men's cologne,

which suspiciously reminded Ginny of a certain young man. Suddenly

Ginny's pocket grew hot, and she reached in and grabbed the galleon

they'd used for Dumbledore 's Army two years before. On the back in

tiny letters it said, "Portrait hole at 1o'clock". Ginny knew what

this meant. She looked over at Kamera, who also had her galleon out.

Kamera nodded, excitement evedent in her dark eyes. Tiny grinned and

turned back to her blank parchment. I'm doing this for you Harry.

The common room was dark and silent. Ginny, Karina, Mark, Neville,

Seamus, Lavender, Pavarti and a few other sixth and seventh years sat

in clusters by the fire waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting...

Somewhere far off in the slumbering castle a clock chimed once. At

the same time, four knocks sounded on the portrait of the fat lady.

"Do you mind!?" she demanded sleepily.

Neville darted forward and opened the portrait hole, revealing Luna,

Denis Macmillan, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Padma Patil, and a few

others.

When everyone had settled down in squashy chairs, Neville, Luna, and

Ginny agreed on the plan.

"Listen up you lot, this is the plan:" began Ginny loudly. "We're

first going to Dissillusion ourselves here, just as a precaution. Then

all of the Gryffindors can follow me and Neville to the Great Hall,

where we will have an art lesson." Ginny grinned.

"The Hufflepuffs," continued Neville, "can go to the fifth floor,

and the Ravelclaws can go to the seventh. There you guys will write on

the walls the most anti-You -Know -Who and pro -Harry things you can

think if. Sound good? "

Everyone laughed and nodded their heads enthusiastically.

"Alright, let's go."

After the uncomfortable feeling of cold water dripping down her

neck, Ginny and the rest of the camouflaged Gryffindors quietly crept

down the corridor, their wand out in front of then like swords.

The huge castle was so quiet. Every breath of wind seeping in

through cracks in the stone became Filch's shuffling feet. Every shadow

looming in the distance was a Carrow waiting excitedly to torture.

The Gryffindors turned a corner and Ginny barely refrained from

screaming. Standing there, blood trickling down his chin, was Fenrir

Greyback.

**Love it? Hate it? Please let me know! Oh, and I typed this up on my Kindle Fire, so it might look kind of weird. I don't know… But enjoy!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Ok, really sorry about how weird that last chapter looked! Like I said, I typed it up on my kindle a****nd yeah, it didn't look very good! But anyway, please comment!** **If you're just sitting there thinking, "Omg her writing sucks!" then comment and tell me what sucks or I won't get any better, please!? Hopefully you aren't saying that though...I try my best! Alright so this is getting kinda long so I should go! Bye**** And enjoy! Oh and did you like the cliffhanger? Ok, bye!**

"Heard you coming," he said with a grin. His pointed teeth were stained with a crimson liquid. Ginny tried to pretend it was tomato juice so that the dinner in her twisting stomach would stay in its proper place.

After licking his chin, Greyback waved his wand and Ginny felt the Disillusionment trickling off of her body.

"Ah," he said stepping forward and twirling Ginny's flaming hair around with his finger. Ginny felt bile rising up in her throat and quickly swallowed. He smelled like dirt, sweat, and blood.

"You're a Weasley aren't you? I remember your brother. He was tasty, but nothing like the women." Ginny noticed him eying Lavender with a rather lusty look in his eyes. She smacked his hand away from her hair; hatred was boiling in her belly and she knew it was only a matter of time before she exploded.

"I bet his pretty little girlfriend broke up with him after I slashed his face open." That was it. Ginny was gone.

"Actually, no! My brother and his 'pretty little girlfriend' are happily married, thank you very much! And do you want to know why!? True love! That's why! Which, serves you right, is something you dirty bastards will _never_ understand!" Greyback only grinned.

"Ooo, a feisty one! I like that."

Then suddenly, he pushed Ginny aside, grabbed Lavender by the lower back, and pulled her close to him. Before she could react, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and crushed his lips onto hers.

Lavender let out a piercing shriek and Seamus bellowed, "STUPEFY!" Greyback flew up into the air and was slammed into the stone wall behind him. Lavender stood there in shock, but when Seamus came up and wrapped his arms around her, she burst into horrified sobs.

"It's alright, it's alright," he murmured into her ear. Ginny awkwardly patted her on the back.

"May I ask _what_ is going on?" said a stern voice. It was Professor McGonagall.

"We came down here to graffiti the walls, but then we ran into Greyback and he kissed Lavender," said Ginny without hesitation. Ginny thought McGonagall was going to explode, but instead she sighed and said, "I'm very proud of you all. Please be careful."

With that she kindly patted Lavender on the shoulder and strode down the corridor, blowing her nose on a flannel handkerchief.

"Well that was weird."

After the encounter with Greyback, everyone thought it was safest to stay where they were. They all got out their wands and took turns writing things on the walls like "Voldemort sucks!" and "Potter for president!" and "Dumbledore's Army-back in business!"

They admired their handy work and couldn't wait for the morning when the Carrows would find it.

Everyone crept back up the moonlit corridors, thanking God nothing too horrible had happened. Little did they know...

**Dum Dum Dummmmmm! Hehe**** So did you guys like it? Let me know por favor! I hope you guys don't mind me shipping Lavender and Seamus, I just always thought that they would be a cute couple 3 **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I'm sorry about how short the last chapter was, this one is way longer, and hopefully the others will be longer too. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review! **

When Ginny awoke the next morning, it seemed like she was going to have a perfect day. The sun was shining and the sky was a cloudless blue. All of the trees in the Forbidden Forest had turned fiery red, the same color as Ginny's hair.

During breakfast, Alecto had burst into the Great Hall screaming to Snape about something that "covered the entire bloody wall!" Ginny hastily tried to look confused and curious, for she was sure there had been a momentarily triumphant look on her face. But then Ginny looked at Kamera and the two burst out laughing. Thankfully they weren't the only ones.

When that excitement had died down, Ginny got a parcel from her mother, as well as the usual letter making sure she was still alive. The parcel turned out to be one of her mother's famous mince pies and some cookies. As if the House Elves didn't feed her enough!

In Charms, Flitwick had awarded Ginny ten points for being able to perform _Aguamenti_ on her first try.

"Very good, Miss Weasley! Ten points!" he had cried in his squeaky voice. When he walked down the aisle next to Ginny, he gave her a wink and she knew he had been told of their adventure the night before. Whether it was a coincidence or not, he also gave points to Kamera, Luna, Mark, and Terry Boot.

Every teacher, with the exception of the Carrows, had been giving the students extremely subtle encouragement. They could hardly do anything themselves, because they knew if they were fired the students would suffer greatly, so they stuck to subtly helping the students rebel. They also never gave the students (except for the Slytherins) detention, probably realizing the Carrows' detention was bad enough. The Carrows had been made the head of all punishment, and all the teachers were supposed to inform them when the students were bad, but they never did if they could help it.

But sometimes they couldn't help it; they had to stand and watch as their students were tortured and belittled. For Ginny, it was one of those times.

She had been walking with Kamera to Transfiguration. The two were laughing and talking happily about how angry the Carrows and Snape were, and excitedly planning their next rebellious adventure.

"We should put Nosebleed Nougats in their food!"

"We should transfigure their pillows into spiders!"

"We should-no, that would just be cruel."

"What!?"

Ginny opened her mouth to answer, but they had opened McGonagall's classroom door, and the room was completely empty.

"You're late," snapped McGonagall. "But it doesn't matter because class was dismissed." Ginny noticed her lips and nostrils were very white.

"Why?" McGonogall didn't answer, she only turned to Kamera and said,

"Miss Golding, you are excused. I believe you have Potions next?" Kamera nodded and, after casting Ginny and apologetic look, strode out of the door.

"Professor, what's going on?" Ginny asked urgently. Before she could answer, the door banged open, revealing Amycus.

"Ah, you found the little blood traitor, McGonogall, thank you!" squealed Amycus happily.

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit._ The familiar sensation of her intestines twisting into knots engulfed Ginny's stomach again.

"How can I help you, _Professor_?" asked Ginny sarcastically.

"A certain werewolf told me that you and some fellow students were wandering the corridors last night. Ginny's face when cold._ I'm screwed._

"And how do you know he was telling the truth?" Amycus grinned.

"Veritaserum. The wolf tends to lie to me, so I had to make sure." _Shit._

"Say I _was_ wandering the castle last night," said Ginny boldly, "what would you do to me?"

"Hmmm, let's see… I think I would torture you until I got the names of every one of your accomplices, and then I would torture you all together." Ginny's heart started beating so hard and fast, she wouldn't have been surprised if it had jumped right out of her chest.

"How come Greyback only remembered _me_ from last night?"

"He said that you were the only one he knew in the first place, and that after he was Stupified and hit his head on the damned stone wall, his memory became even foggier. Now Weasley, shall we get down to business?"

"Amycus, this is drawing the line, I refuse-"began McGonagall.

"SHUT UP MCGONAGALL, YOU STUPID HAG!" Amycus screeched. Before they could do anything, Amycus raised his wand and it shot out magenta flames. The flames hit McGonagall in the chest and she toppled over backward, slamming her head into a desk.

"Professor!" Ginny screamed. McGonagall was getting old. What if she was-?

"Alright, Weasley," Amycus said grinning, "tell me the names of everyone who was in your group, and I'll let you go. Don't tell me and I'll torture you. It's your choice."

Ginny mentally slapped herself for actually considering the deal for a few seconds.

"Liar! There's no way in _hell_ I'm telling you!" Amycus' grin wavered for a moment and he looked annoyed, but the he giggled.

"Fine, then. CRUCIO!"

The pain Ginny had been expecting was one thousand times worse than she had imagined. As the curse hit her chest she momentarily wondered who had let out the glass-breaking, hair-raising scream, until she realized it was herself.

It felt like boiling oil was being poured over her naked body. The oil was cascading into her open mouth and down her throat, burning and blistering her body from the inside out. Then the pain changed. Razor sharp knives were being thrust into her body. They shredded her skin, ripped her muscles, and sawed through her bones. Ginny was squeezing her eyes shut, but she could imagine the slippery blood pouring out of her body and filling up the floor she was lying on. Then the pain changed. Heavy boulders were being thrown at her. Over and over again they slammed into her fragile body, blackening every inch of her pale skin and crushing her bones into dust. A last boulder slammed into her chest, shattering her ribs. A tiny sliver of bone poked into her heart and the pain disappeared.

_Of course I'm in the hospital wing,_ Ginny thought bitterly, looking at the moonlight shining on her pale sheets. The room was dark, but she could tell she was the only patient there.

Her body ached; it felt like it was completely covered in bruises. Gingerly she sat up and reached for her school bag, which was at the end of her bed. Ginny pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink and began writing.

Dear Harry,

How are you doing? Do you miss me? I miss you a lot. Is Hermione acting like my Mum yet? I wouldn't put it past her. Is Ron annoying the hell out of you yet? Probably. Are you staying warm? It's already really cold here, even though it's just October. I can't imagine staying in a tent outside or whatever you guys are doing. Please don't freeze to death.

Things are Hogwarts are…well… it's like hell, really. It's so different. It seems like everyone has matured _way_ too fast; no one goofs off any more. The only "fun" anyone ever has is rebelling against the Carrows, which usually ends in torture.

The Carrows are sickening bastards. They teach us Dark Magic and are constantly talking about how dirty and dumb Muggles are. They've been torturing everyone that gets detention, even the first years! I swear to God, you can't even have an opinion in this place anymore. It's their way or being tortured until you pass out. I got tortured today. I was being interrogated for names, but somehow I didn't give them. I felt like I was going to die, but obviously I didn't. I'm not sure why Amycus didn't just use the Imperious curse on me. Sometimes they can be really thick.

I should probably go to bed now, though. I don't know what time it is, but it's the middle of the night. I love you, stay safe.

Ginny

Ginny closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but her mind was buzzing. Just when she was finally drifting off, she heard a door creak open.

She bolted upright, her heart beating fast, but the moonlight only revealed Neville and Luna.

"Hey guys!" she whispered.

"Hi Ginny, how are you feeling?"

"Erm..okay."

"Good, because me and Luna came up with a plan." Neville whispered her the plan, and Ginny was surprised. She expected to feel wary about causing trouble again, since their last plan had ended in her torture. But for some reason, Amycus torturing Ginny had made her want to rebel even more.

"I'm in."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys! Here's the next chapter, I really hope you like it! As always, please review it makes me post faster ;) Enjoy!**

**Oh, I also have never done a disclaimer for this story so here it is: Anything you recognize is J.K Rowling's. If I were her, I would not be on **

**PS, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long! Lesson learned: it's hard to concentrate on writing when you're staring at the incredibly attractive faces of Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp…**

Gradually the trees in the Forbidden Forest started to shed their fiery foliage, blanketing the brown grass in a layer of crimson. The skies became icy and gray; white frost covered the wilted grass every morning. Bitter winds infiltrated the castle, forcing the students to stay close to their common room fires in free time.

All of the brave students continued to be rude and disrespectful to the Carrows; several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had been given detention also, it wasn't just the Gryffindors. Even a few Slytherins had lost respect for the Carrows when Alecto brutally tortured a tiny first year girl for falling asleep during class. The girl, who couldn't have weighed more than fifty pounds, had had to stay in the hospital wing for a week.

Ginny found herself becoming accustomed to the frequent tortures. Neville had gotten so many detentions he was in the hospital wing every day for a week once. Ginny, worrying about his health (though she was being rather hypocritical), had a talk with him about letting his common sense speak instead of his anger. Neville agreed to try to hold his tongue, but Ginny knew he was lying.

_He didn't seem like it when he was younger,_ Ginny thought, _but he really is a true Gryffindor._

You needed to be a true Gryffindor to steal the sword of Gryffindor from the Headmaster's office. And that was what Neville was going to do. Not alone, of course. Luna and Ginny were going to help him; but it was his idea.

As Ginny grudgingly walked to Muggle Studies, she reflected on their conversation in the hospital wing from a few weeks before:

"Hi Ginny, how are you feeling?" Neville had asked.

"Erm..okay." Ginny had answered. She was relieved by the cheerful tone in Neville's voice, for she had been worried about the Carrows somehow finding out who else had been with her that night. It felt like a thick blanket of tension had rolled off of her shoulders.

"Good," Neville had said, grinning, "because me and Luna came up with a plan." Without waiting for a reply, Neville blurted out,

"We're going to steal the sword of Gryffindor."

Ginny's heart had started beating quickly. Steal the sword of Gryffindor! And from Dumble- Snape's office! Their rebellious adventure before had been risky, yes, but this was different. Before, it had been rather amusing; they had done it for a laugh. But this time, it was serious. They were going to steal something. From the Headmaster. From Snape. From Voldemort's right hand man. Though the Carrows were torturous to the point of being murderous, Snape was worse. He was cleverer. Colder. Sneakier.

So even though thousands of doubts had snuck into Ginny's mind, trying to make her see sense, she knew in her heart this was the right thing to do. That sword did not belong in Snape's office. It belonged to the Gryffindors. It belonged to Harry.

Ginny had just slipped into her seat as Alecto entered the classroom from the back.

"Good morning class," said Alecto. "No talking. Open your mouth and you will be tortured, am I clear?" Everyone nodded. _There's no way in hell I'm not talking,_ thought Ginny.

"Today we are going to be talking about The Muggle Born Registration Commission. This is a wonderful program that helps rid our world of the disgusting contamination of stupid Mudbloods." Ginny felt her face grow hot; her hands started to shake in anger. Hatred was coursing through every vein in her body.

"The_ Pureblood _witches and wizards that work for the Muggle Born Registration Commission are given a list of every witch and wizard living in Britain. They then look up the witch's or wizard's blood status, and if it says that they are Muggle Born, they are sent to court to be questioned. The reason they are sent to court is because sometimes their blood status is incorrectly marked. If the witch or wizard is found guilty, they are sent to Azkaban, where they deserve to be," said Alecto happily with a little giggle.

Ginny couldn't stay calm anymore; she stood up with her entire body shaking in fury, and began to yell.

"'If they are found guilty'!?" she shrieked. " Found guilty of what!? Being born magical? It's not their bloody fault Carrow! They can't help who they were born as! You can't help that you were born as an ugly, prejudiced bitch, now can you!? As for the 'Mudbloods being stupid' part, one of my best friends is Muggle born, and she was the smartest in her year! She's a billion times smarter than you, though that probably isn't really that great of a feat. So you just shut the hell up and realize they are just as good as you are!"

When Ginny was done yelling, her chest rising and falling rapidly, she was vaguely aware that other students were yelling also, but Alecto had eyes only for Ginny.

"You know what I think, Miss Weasley?" said Alecto sweetly, slowly drawing nearer to Ginny's desk. "I think you are the ignorant spawn of a blood status betraying bitch, and that you deserve to have every inch of your skin flayed off." Beofre Ginny could respond, Alecto drew herself to her fiullest hight and slapped Ginny across the face.

She gasped. Bright lights erupted in her eyes and the classroom swam out of view. Her cheek felt like it was on fire and tears streamed down her face; it felt like her eye had been scratched.

Ginny snatched up her bag and stumbled to the door, slamming it as hard as she could on her way out. Furiously she strode down the drafty corridor, getting as far as she could before dropping down onto the cold stone floor and burying her face in her arms. Finally, she let herself go. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. She was alone; she didn't have to be strong for anyone.

Ginny hardly knew why she was crying. Alecto's insults didn't hurt her; she knew she wasn't ignorant and she knew her mother wasn't a bitch. Yes, Alecto's slap still stung on her cheek, but it wasn't the physical contact that sent tears streaming down her face. No; it was the realization that as hard as she tried, as loud as she yelled, as brave as she was, as hard as she fought, there would always be someone to fight back. The evil, the sadness, the pain, it wouldn't go away.

What if Harry died? What if Voldemort won? Never again would sunlight stream through the black clouds, breaking up the rain and sending a strip of a thousand colors through the sky. No, the black cloud would remain, hovering over people's hearts and enveloping their minds in bitter sadness. Never again would life be whole. Parents would be stripped from their children; husbands from their wives. Everything would be shredding and broken and ripped until nothing remained on earth but sadness, coldness, and darkness. Everything that made life worthwhile would have been buried in the grave with Harry. Harry Potter, their one hope.

It was as if from one hundred miles away that Ginny heard footsteps. Gratefully she pulled her mind away from the worries that had lived in the depths of her heart since Harry had left, and tried to wipe her eyes. Looking around, she realized Luna had also left Alecto's class, and was wandering down the corridor toward Ginny. Humming slightly, she slid down the wall and sat down next to Ginny, looking at her.

"Alecto is mean," Luna said seriously, raising her eyebrows as if she were surprised. Ginny couldn't help herself; she let out a shout of laughter and didn't stop until she couldn't breathe.

"Only-you-Luna!" she said, gasping for breath. "Only you would say that! 'Alecto's mean', as if I didn't already know!"

"Yes, I know, I do say some rather strange things sometimes." Ginny immediately stopped laughing and felt rather ashamed.

"But that's why I love you, Luna," she said truthfully. Then she burst into tears.

"Thank you," said Luna softly, "but please stop crying, your eyes look prettier when they're dry."

Ginny took a shaky breath, wiped her tear-stained face, and stood up. She was not going to let the gloomy wave of depression corrupt her mind. She was going to fight. She was going to be brave. She was going to stay strong. Stay strong for Harry, stay strong for her family, and stay strong for Hogwarts.

Slowly the common room emptied as students stumbled up the stairs, grumbling about homework and cursing their teachers. By the time everyone had gone, Ginny was nearly falling asleep, her chin occasionally drooping and resting peacefully on her chest; but then Neville would pat her shoulder and she would be withdrawn from the peaceful ignorance of sleep. Shadows from the fire danced on the walls, creating sinister figures that made Ginny want to cover her eyes and hide. She wished she were a litter girl again, and she wouldn't have to worry about people thinking she was weak. She wished she didn't have to be brave. Ginny wished she could just curl up in her father's arms again and cry, just like she did after Harry saved her from the Chamber. She wished she could press her head into her mother's chest and cry, letting the heavy perfume calm her into a stupor. But wishing doesn't get you anywhere; you have to work for what you want.

"Ginny? Ginny! It's time!" Neville was gently shaking her shoulder. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes and feeling a little sorry when she noticed she had been shoving her feet into Neville's face.

"Sorry," she muttered, but Neville didn't seem to notice. There was a knocking on the portrait hole door; Neville pulled it open and Luna stepped in.

"Are you two ready?" Luna asked as calmly as if she were asking if they had done their homework. It wouldn't have been Luna asking that question however, it would have been Hermione.

"Yes," Ginny replied shakily. She was scared; she wasn't going to deny it. But she wasn't about to let fear cloud her mind either. She _was_ going to succeed.

The trio slipped out of the common room and headed for The Headmaster's Office on the third floor. Luna, who was the most inconspicuous of the three, had done some spying and had found out that Snape always patrolled the corridors from midnight until three o'clock in the morning. She had also found out (though Ginny had no idea how Luna had been given this information) that the password to the Headmaster's office was "The Dark Lord".

Ginny knew that the castle was creepy when the torches were extinguished and darkness swallowed the corridors, but that night it was terrifying. The wind slipped into the holes in her knitted sweater and raised goose bumps on her freckled arms. It seemed to whisper to the Carrows, "There are students out of their beds that shouldn't be. Come get them. Come torture them." Ginny's heart raced; her face was very hot but her feet were very cold. She expected to run into blood-thirsty monsters at every corner she turned. Every time Neville or Luna took a deep breath, her heart would thump wildly and she would jump out of her skin.

When the trio tip-toed down the staircase that led down to the third floor, Ginny heard the thing that she had been dreading hearing since Neville had told her the plan: talking. Her breath caught in her chest and she grabbed on to Neville's and Luna's arms. They both looked confused, but mercifully didn't talk; and then they heard the voices too.

"Oh, shut up will you, you stupid hag! Snape appointed _me_ as the Head of discipline, not you!" Amycus.

"He may have, Amycus, but they are still my students as much as they are yours, and I should be in control of how I punish them." McGonagall.

Ginny's whole body started shaking in panic. The voices were becoming louder and clearer. Because it was the only thing she could think of, she kept her viselike hold on her companion's arms and as quietly and quickly as she could, retraced their steps back up the stairs.

At the top of the staircase was secret little hiding place that Ginny liked to use when she was overwhelmed and needed a place to think; it was a tapestry with a hole behind it. She gratefully lifted up the tapestry and the three rushed in. It was rather cramped (Luna was sitting on Ginny's head, and Neville was standing up with his head crushed into the ceiling) but she didn't mind; she would take whatever she could get.

After a few minutes Ginny heard the angered voices of Amycus and McGonagall.

"It's not up to you to tell me how to run my job, McGonagall, that's Snape's. So piss off!"

"I'll not 'piss off' Amycus. When it comes to the students' welfare, I have a say too! And of course it's going to be _me_ that will have to owl the poor girl's parents and tell them!" The voices were right outside of the tapestry now. Ginny's breathing quickened. Then a third voice joined the conversation.

"May I ask what you two are arguing about?" Ginny thought her heart stopped beating. The third voice belonged to Snape.

"Professor Carrow," said McGonagall angrily, "is trying to give one of the students another detention, because apparently _my_ detention wasn't horrible enough!"

"What did you give to this student for detention, McGonagall?"

"Lines, because she was only talking in class."

Ginny snaked her head out from under Luna's body and met Neville's eyes. _What do we do!? _she mouthed. He shrugged in a dejected sort of way.

"I think," said Snape lazily, "I will let you off this time, Minerva. But argue with my head of discipline again and I'll have to punish you." Ginny knew McGonagall was having a hard time not arguing without even looking at her.

"Yes, Headmaster." McGonagall's voice was filled with hatred. After a moment of awkward silence, she heard three sets of footsteps stalk off in three different directions.

Ginny, Neville, and Luna tumbled out of the hole; stretching and messaging their necks.

"Well that was fun," Neville mumbled sarcastically.

"Let's go," said Luna.

Again, the trio quietly walked down the stairs and through the corridor. When they got to the stone gargoyle, Ginny muttered, "The Dark Lord" as fast as she could; as if the disgusting words were germs in her mouth and she needed to cleanse herself. Hesitantly they tip-toed up the stairs, and Ginny sucked in her breath when they got to the door. She pushed it open and let out a sigh of relief; the room was empty.

There it was, glittering in its glass case; egg sized rubies decorating its hilt. The sight of it filled Ginny up with anger. This was the sword that saved her and Harry from the Basilisk; it was the sword that destroyed Tom Riddle's diary, the diary that still tormented her in her dreams. What was it doing in a Death Eater's study!? They _had _to get it out.

Before she knew what she was doing, Ginny ran up to the case and punched it as hard as she could. Glass shattered everywhere and cut up her face and arms. She was surprised and angry at Snape; why did he not put a spell on the sword? Was he seriously so arrogant that he thought it would be safe!? It was way too easy…

"Ginny!" whisper-yelled Neville. "Are you okay? We were going to steal it with magic!"

"I'm sorry, I just-I-I had to do it myself…" Neville smiled sympathetically.

"I know what you mean… now let's go!"

Ginny carefully took the sword out of its case and followed Neville and Luna. Before she closed the door, she sadly looked back at how the office had changed. When it belonged to Dumbledore, the office was always bright and cheery, even at night. All of his strange silver instruments decorated the room and emited thick, foggy smoke. Colorful pictures of the previous headmasters adorned the walls; they pretended they were asleep, but they never really were. Now, the room was dark and colorless, like a shadow of what it was before. The silver instruments were gone, as were the bright cherry-wood tables that they sat on. The pictures of the headmasters were still there, but they were empty. The room was bare and gray, like it had died; it was broken and decayed.

"May I ask what you three are doing in my office?" asked a quiet and deadly voice. Ginny swore her heart had stopped beating. She turned around, and standing in front of them was Snape looking lethal and malignant. Ginny couldn't talk, it was like her voice had run away, knowing it was in mortal danger. Neville and Luna didn't say anything either.

"Into my office, NOW!" Shaking from head to toe, Ginny stumbled into Snape's office and sat in a chair in front of his desk.

_He's going to kill us,_ Ginny thought morosely. _There's no way we can be forgiven for this. We _stole_ something from him! _And_ he's a Death Eater. _And_ I'm Harry Potter's girlfriend. Well, ex- girlfriend. I bet he's been waiting for an excuse to kill us for a while. I can't believe we did this. This is my entire fault! I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Mum. I'm so sorry Dad. I'm so sorry Bill and Charlie and Fred and George and Ron. And Percy, I guess. I can't believe this. I'm only sixteen, and Luna's only sixteen and Neville's only seventeen, and now we are all going to die and it's all my fault! Why did I agree to this!?_

"I am disgusted at all of you. Now I don't know why you decided to break into my office, and I don't know why you stole my sword—"

"It's not your sword."

"Excuse me? What did you say Weasley?" asked Snape, although he knew very well what Ginny had said.

"I said, it's not your bloody sword! That sword is Harry's, Dumbledore wanted him to have it! Though I'm not sure why you of all people would do anything that Dumbledore wanted." A strange emotion seemed to flicker across Snape's face, but before Ginny could tell what it was, it had gone.

"The sword belongs to my school, Weasley, so in other words it belongs to me. Now, consider yourselves lucky that I'm feeling merciful tonight. Trying to steal my sword was an incredibly idiotic thing to do; I can't believe that you were arrogant enough to think you would get away with it. You three will have detention tomorrow with the oaf Hagrid. Now get out of my sight, now!"

Ginny, Neville, and Luna hopped off of their chairs and sprinted out of the office and down the stairs before Snape could change his mine.

"What the hell happened there!?" Neville said incredulously.

"I have no idea, I thought he was going to kill us!"

"Well, let's get back to our rooms before we run into the Carrows and _they_ kill us!"

Ginny and Neville said goodbye to Luna and then strode off to the Gryffindor tower.

What was up with Snape? Why had he acted like that?


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! I'm so so so incredibly sorry that I haven't uploaded for so long! I think it's because I had no motivation, since I got no reviews on my last chapter…(hint hint) So if you guys could review, please do; that would be awesome! I also had strep throat two weekends ago, and I had a dance exam this weekend, so I've been very busy!**

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling wrote the amazing masterpiece that's called Harry Potter, I'm only trying to fill in the blanks**

"Ginny! Ginny, come here!"

Ginny had just stepped through the portrait hole when Kamera started calling her name; the whole common room was buzzing excitedly.

"What's going on?"

"Potterwatch, that's what's going on!" Kamera nearly shouted.

"Potterwatch, what's that? Does it have something to do with Harry!?"

"It has everything to do with Harry, it's a radio station about him!"

"What!? And it's actually _good_?"

"Yeah, it's run by the Order of the Pheonix."

"The Order of the Pheonix! Some of my family could be doing it then! Why didn't my Mum tell me?"

Ginny ran over to a table crowded with Gryffindors, got as close to the radio as she could, and started excitedly when she heard her brother's voice.

"…It is a rumor that You-Know-Who was spotted in Wales yesterday. While that might be true, you never really know with him." It was Fred! No, George. _George_, she thought.

"But don't be lulled into a false sense of security, it's what he wants. As the wonderful Mad-Eye Moody would say (may his extremely scarred remains rest in peace) 'Constant vigilance!'"

"Yes, thank you very much for those wise words, Remy," another voice said. Ginny recognized it to be Tonks. "While I've always been a reckless one," she said, "now is the time to be careful. Be smart, be brave.

"Five members of the Shuey family were found dead in their home today. We believe it's because they didn't have any protective enchantments on their house, and the Death Eaters were able to force their way in. While we are all very sorrowful at the loss of this wonderful family, we can use their deaths as an example. These are dark and dangerous times; a simple enchantment can mean the difference between life and death. Constant vigilance! "

"Now," the quiet voice of Remus Lupin said, "before we end our program today, let us take a moment to pause and remember all of the wonderful people that have fallen today during this terrible time, including Tanya and Ben Alley, Joanne Murray, four members of the Miller family, Jacob Lafayette, Katherine and Nick Pucket, Olivia and Johnny Millians, and William, Dani, Kelsey, and Kendra Baker." The common room fell completely silent, and Ginny felt sick.

Twenty-one people. Twenty-one! Twenty-one people had been killed by the Death Eaters on just one day! And that didn't even include all of the nameless Muggles that had been ruthlessly slaughtered, or all of the people that hadn't been found dead yet. Why? Why did the Death Eaters kill for fun? It made Ginny want to throw up.

"May those and all of the other countless dead rest in peace.

"This concludes our broadcast. Next week's password will be 'scar'. As always, be smart, stay safe, and constant vigilance."

"Wow," said Ginny when the radio had fallen silent, and the common room again grew noisy.

"I know!"

"It's so brave of them! They could so easily be caught! I wish I could help…"

"Oh, forget _them_ Ginny," said Kamera, "fancy helping _me_ with my Charms homework?"

"I can't," said Ginny, rolling her eyes, "I have detention with Hagrid and twenty minutes."

"Oh that will be fun," said Kamera sarcastically. "Waltzing around the Forbidden Forest in the dark of night when it's ten degrees out. I wish I could go!"

"Thanks for the sympathy."

"Any time, my dear Ginevra."

"Are you ready to go Ginny?" Neville asked her twenty minutes later. She had been sitting in a loveseat thinking about the amazing times she had spent there with Harry. She thought of their first kiss, of the electric currents his hands had spread through her body when they held her. She thought of running her fingers through his messy hair, and at that moment she didn't want to do anything as badly as that.

But the thing she remembered in clearest detail was her heart, how it would race and thump wildly when he touched her. How it strangely seemed to attempt to escape from the amazing love it had longed for for so long. How its pressure mad her gasp for air when he kissed her. It wasn't a my-heart-is-racing-because-Death-Eaters-are-trying-to-kill-me race. It was an I-can-tell-I'm-in-love-because-this-is-the-first-time-I've-ever-felt-like-this race. She loved it. Michael had never made her heart race like that. Dean had never made her heart race. It was only Harry. It was always only Harry.

"Yeah, I'm ready," signed Ginny, tearing her mind out of the blissful reality it had once known. She pulled on her cloak and Gryffindor scarf over her cozy Weasley sweater, and the two trooped out of the common room.

It was crisp and cold when they got outside; Ginny's breath made thick puffy clouds form in the frosty air. The sky was black, but dotted with thousands of silver stars. As Ginny got nearer to Hagrid's hut, she could smell the homey scent of smoke ascending from a crackling fire, and she wished she were at the Burrow.

Reluctantly, she continued trudging through the crunchy grass with Neville at her side. When they got to the hut, he knocked on the rough wooden door.

"'Hello Ginny, Neville!" exclaimed Hagrid, his hairy face peeking around the door. His huge hand was on the collar of his boarhound, Fang, who was wining and frantically scratching at the door. Ginny slipped inside, with Neville beside her, and found Luna perched daintily on Hagrid's huge chair; she looked very out of place.

"Hello Ginny."

"Hey Luna."

Hagrid released Fang, and he bounded up to Ginny and started licking her chin.

"You all ready ter go?" asked Hagrid. Luna nodded vaguely, but Ginny and Neville didn't respond.

"Ah, come on you two, it's not that bad!" said Hagrid. "All we're doin' is findin' some unicorn tail hairs, then we'll be done. I know that you two have never been in the forest Ginny an' Luna, but Neville's bin in there. He'll tell yeh it's not bad!" Everyone turned expectantly to Neville.

"The last time I was in the Forbidden Forest, You-Know-Who was in it too," Neville said quietly.

"That was very reassuring, thanks Neville," said Ginny. Hagrid sighed, and then opened the heavy door.

"Ladies first."

Luna and Ginny stepped out, then Neville, and then Hagrid and Fang.

"Wands out, if it makes yeh feel better."

Hagrid took the lead, and Ginny jogged to keep up with him. He made her feel safe.

"How've yeh bin, Ginny? I haven't seen much of yeh."

"I've been good, thanks. Just busy with school and everything. The Carrows are horrible."

"Yeah, I know. I never thought I'd see the day when Death Eaters became Hogwarts teachers. The way they treat yeh kids is terrible. If only Dumbledore-" Hagrid stopped talking abruptly. Apparently the subject was still touchy.

"Erm, anyway. Has it been hard since Harry-never mind." Ginny knew what Hagrid was going to ask, and she was very glad he refrained from asking it. She didn't want to talk about how she felt. She _couldn't_ talk about how she felt.

By then the group had reached the shadowy entrance to the Forbidden Forest. Ginny hated the way the trees blocked out the stars, and seemed to envelop her in darkness. The icy wind seemed like it was whispering chilling words in some unknown language. Goosebumps dotted her skin, and she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. But when she turned her head, there was nothing there.

"Alright, let's go."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! Sorry for such a long wait, if I had an excuse I would give you one, but…. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and special thanks Crazy Female LEPrecon for the awesome comment! **

As Ginny warily stepped through a clearing in the trees, it seemed as if a heavy dark curtain had been drawn to a close behind her. She looked up, and the starry sky and full moon was gone, replaced with thorny, twisted gray branches.

Ginny lit her wand and followed Hagrid onto what he seemed to think was a path. It was narrow and winding, littered with sticks, stones, and angry bushes that tore at your clothes.

"Alright, keep an eye out fer unicorn hairs. You'll know 'em when you see 'em, 'cause they sorta glow in the dark."

As Ginny walked, the bitter December wind seemed to seep into her body, right down into her bones. Her body shivered uncontrollably, and it took all of her will power to not complain.

Just when she thought she couldn't feel any worse, she kicked a seemingly invisible tree root and fell forward into an icy puddle of mud.

"Shit!" She wiped the slimy mud onto her jeans, but its coldness lingered on her skin. She turned around to face the others, and over their shoulders she saw a pair of shining yellow eyes.

"Hagri-!" They disappeared. "N-never mind."

"Are you okay, Ginny?" Neville asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Just cold." She _was_ cold. Icy shivers had crept up her back when she had seen the eyes. She tried to brush it off as just being an owl or a opossum, but something in the back of her mind told her she was in danger.

"Le's get goin', shall we?" The others nodded, and the group when back to fighting their way through the forest, always on the lookout for shining unicorn hairs.

Ginny was more alert now, her brown eyes frantically flitting from one side of the path to the other. She held her wand high, and almost screamed when someone cried out.

"Look!" It was Neville. Ginny whirled around, expecting to see some huge, yellow-eyed, blood-thirsty beast. But all she found was Neville on his hands and knees, excitedly pulling a bright, silvery hair out of a bush. "I found one!"

"Great job, Neville!" Hagrid roared.

Ginny closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. _Calm down, Ginny. Are you a Gryffindor or what? You're in a _forest_, it's filled with all kinds of harmless animals. Get a grip! _Ginny opened her eyes and congratulated Neville, then the party continued on, deeper into the forest. She began to calm down a little._ There's the three of us, and while we're just teenagers, we have a _half-giant_ with us, who would be dumb enough to attack us?_

Ginny heard a strange noise, but it probably only Fang. A nearby bush rustled, but it was probably just the wind. A twig cracked, probably just a squirrel. She was wrong.

In the shadows ahead of them, outside of the glow of their wands, the silhouette of a large animal crawled out from behind a tree. It was tall and rather skinny and hunched over, with sharp claws and a snout stained crimson. It stared at the group with merciless yellow eyes. A werewolf.

Ginny screamed in spite of herself and stumbled backwards as the werewolf slowly advanced. Hagrid yelled, and with a mighty swipe of his arms, flung Neville, Luna, and Ginny behind himself.

"Stay away from us, you hear me!?" roared Hagrid. "Stay away!" This only angered the wolf, and it growled and bounded up to Hagrid. It jumped up and smacked into him, sinking its teeth into his shoulder. Hagrid yelled and punched it; it went flying through the air like a haphazard bird and landed heavily on the ground right next to Ginny.

It seemed as if Ginny was frozen in horror. The beast was only one foot away from her, but she couldn't move. She was petrified. "Is it dead?" Luna whispered. Ginny turned to look at the others, and right as she did, she knew it was a mistake.

The werewolf sunk it's three-inch long claws into her calf, ripping cloth, skin,and muscle all together. She screamed as the warm, sticky blood oozed out of her leg and the frozen air pierced her like a sword; her leg trembled and then gave out and she fell to the ground, gripping her leg. From somewhere above her, Ginny heard Neville yell, but all she could focus on was the blood puddling in her cupped hands and staining the grass.

But then all of a sudden, Ginny thought of the radio show that she had listened to earlier that thought of the brave Order and how daily they risked their lives to protect everyone else's. She thought of the hundreds of innocent people who had died fighting for justice. And yet Ginny was there, lying on the ground and gripping her leg because of a scratch._ You're a coward, Ginny. And you'll forever be a coward if you don't stand up right now and fight._

And so, Ginny grabbed onto a nearby branch and gingerly stood up. Her leg wobbled and felt like it was being ripped open again and again, but she pretended to ignore it. Neville was lying in the ground with a bloody forehead, but Luna and Hagrid we still fighting; Luna with her wand and Hagrid with his fists.

Ginny raised her wand and bellowed, "Stupefy!" There was a flash of red light, but nothing else happened. The spell seemed to ricochet off of the werewolf's tough fur. The wolf turned after hearing her voice, and with a chilling growl it started running toward her. She kept sending curse after curse, but it had no affect on the beast. There was nothing she could do. It reared onto its hind legs, towering over her. Expecting a blow, Ginny tried to retreat, but she wasn't fast enough; it slapped her across the face. The impact of muscle and bone blackened her eye and bruised her cheekbone, but the wolf's claws shredded the delicate skin on her forehead and cheek, miraculously missing her eye. The pain was unbelievable, alms worse than the Cruciatus curse. Fire had been set ablaze to her face, unmendable even when she cradled it in her hands, unquenchable even in the icy wind. She shrieked and backed away, almost wishing for a blow that would end her pain. But then she remembered Potterwatch. She remembered all of the people who had died fighting. They hadn't begged for death. They had fought as hard as they could, even when they were injured. So even though the pain didn't disappear, Ginny ignored it. Even though blood dripped down from her forehead and into her eye, she ignored it. She boldly looked up into the werewolf's leering face and screamed, "Sectumsempra!" The wolf stumbled backward and collapsed; blood cascaded out of its chest and face. It shuddered and writhed and clawed, and after a few minutes it stopped and was still. Just after collapsing on the ground herself, and just before sinking into a grateful sleep, Ginny mused, _I might have to thank Snape..._

**Aaaaand Crazy Female LEPrecn guessed it, it was a werewolf! Good job:) Hope you guys enjoyed; please review! Random fact: The Hobbit was really good. If you are a Tolkien fan you should definitely go see it. OK bye!:P**


	13. Chapter 13

**Once again, I have no excuse for how late this chapter is, I'm sorry! If I ever do a fic with chapters again, I'm going to write the **_**whole**_** thing before I decide to upload the chapters**** But I hope you guys like this, please review, it will make me post faster! The characters and general plot belongs to J.K Rowling. Enjoy!**

It was two weeks after it had happened, and the staring still hadn't stopped. Even after the frost had disappeared under two feet of snow, it didn't cease. Ginny, who after finally getting over Harry (a little bit) in her fourth year, had always been full of confidence and spunk, wanted to shrivel up and become invisible. Students pointed at her and loudly whispered about her whenever she was in earshot.

"How did that happen?"

"First time in her life she hasn't been pretty."

"I bet it was that oaf, Hagrid."

Three long, thin, scabby scratches ran from Ginny's forehead to jaw on the left side of her face. They stung and itched and burned, and when she moved too much they would crack open and ooze blood and pus. As if that wasn't enough, a perfectly round, black and blue bruise circled Ginny's left eye, and she walked with a limp because of the gash in her thigh.

"Sadly, we're just going to have to wait for it to heal," Madam Pomfrey had said, "and then I'll see what I can do with the scars. Werewolf scratches are a nasty business. But count your blessings, it could have been a bite."

So Ginny walked through the corridors with her head down and only spend her free time with Neville, Luna, and Kamera : the only students who knew about the werewolf. Snape had forbidden Ginny from telling any students about the wolf, thinking that parents would write and complain, but of course she had to tell her best friends.

"Neville," said Ginny a few days before the Christmas holiday, "I think we should do something else, something big, before we all leave for Christmas." Neville's eyes lit up.

"That's a good idea! We need to, erm, redeem ourselves for completely failing at getting the Sword." Ginny nodded, her thoughts regretfully slipping back to Harry, and she wondered why he needed the Sword. She remembered, on the evening of Harry's birthday, hearing him and Ron and Hermione whispering about the Sword, saying things like, "But it's the only thing that will work! How can we get it?" The only thing that will work for what?

"But what should we do?" Neville asked. The two fell silent, deep in thought.

"What are you two doing?" Seamus asked as he sat down with them. Ginny tried not to cringe at the sight of his red, puffy face. _Not that I look much better._

"We are trying to come up with something to do for the D.A, something huge, before we all leave for the holiday."

"Hmm…I can't really think of anything huge. We could put dung bombs in Carrow's office," he suggested half-heartedly. Ginny shook her head. "Or graffiti the walls?"

"No," said Ginny. "It has to be something big. Huge. Something that gives everyone hope; something that would make Harry proud." Seamus just rolled his eyes.

"Ginny, you have too high of standards."

"Maybe you should go back with your lovely Lavender then," said Ginny, "since you have obviously figured out that her standards are _much_ lower than mine."

"Hey!" he cried indignantly. "She dated your brother too!"

"Which is exactly why I'm saying she has low standards. Anyways," she said before he could retaliate, "what are we going to do?"

"It can't just be something that will annoy the Carrows and Snape," said Neville, "it has to scare them."

"Yeah I agree…Oh my God! I've got it!" shouted Ginny. "I've got it, I know what we can do! We should go with Seamus' idea!"

A scowl creased Ginny's forehead as she studied her reflection in the mirror. She had never been particularly proud of her appearance, but had also never disliked it. She simply didn't care. Personalities had always been more important to her. Until now. Now she was embarrassed. Now she wanted her reflection to disappear. Once she caught herself wondering if Harry would still like her if he saw how she looked. But then she was immediately ashamed. _Shut up, you whiney bitch. You're acting like one of those annoying girls who spends hours doing their makeup just so that a boy will like them. You've never been one of those girls. And you are definitely not going to become one now! _But still she stood, staring resentfully at the scratches that stood out like blood on snow on her pale face.

Dear Harry,

Here I am again, writing you another pointless letter that you will never receive. I guess you are the only one I don't feel dumb telling this to: I'm really scared.

So I came up with this awesome idea for the D.A to do before we all leave the school for Christmas, something that will make us leave with a bang, and hopefully scare the Carrows. But it's serious this time; it's not something we are just going to do for a laugh. And if the Carrows find out who did it, we're as good as dead. So there, I said it: I'm scared. And I'm mad at myself for being scared. You out there killing You-Know-Who makes my "genius plan" look like a little prank. We're doing it in three days, the night before we all go home for Christmas.

Normally I dread the holidays, but this time I can't wait to get home and see my Mum and Dad. I just wish you and Hermione and-okay!- even Ron would be there too. It won't be the same.

Anyway, enough of my complaining. How are _you_ doing? What _are_ you doing? I wish I could talk to you. I wish the war was over. I wish I could help. I need a genie.

Oh well, I should go. I love you! ~Gin


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! I hope you like this chapter, please review and let me know what you liked and disliked, and what I could change and improve. Thanks, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: JKR created the characters and most of this plot.**

Ginny's stomach twisted unpleasantly as more and more Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws made their way into the common room. The clock showed it was 1:45; fifteen minutes left. She was sitting awkwardly on the floor next to Luna and Neville. Her back was facing the fire, and the other students were sitting in chairs and on sofas facing her. Some gaped at her mauled face, others just stared the three expectantly.

"Well," said Neville slowly, "if everyone is here, I guess I should tell you all what we are going to do. Actually, I'm going to let Ginny tell you, because this was her genius idea." All eyes turned to Ginny.

"Okay, first let me ask you: are you all here because you want to get back at the Carrows? Do you want to scare them? Do you want to see them squirm?" Everyone nodded and grinned, rubbing their hands together wickedly. _I guess I'm not the only one who's been treated like shit by the Carrows. A lot of others have been hurt too. I need to stop only thinking about myself._

"Well, good," said Ginny, "because me, Neville, and Luna have come up with a great plan. It's a plan that, hopefully, will scare the Carrows. If everything plays out right, it should make them fear us, and more importantly, fear Harry. Hopefully, after carrying out our plan, their infuriating self-confidence, and their confidence in You-Know-Who will be diminished."

"So what's the plan!?" someone yelled.

"Before I tell you," said Ginny, "you should know that it's all thanks to Seamus that I came up with it. Actually, he's the one who came up with it, I just revised it." Seamus grinned from his seat by the window; Lavender hugged him proudly.

"So this is what we are going to do: we are going to graffiti the walls." There was silence for about ten seconds, and then people started to laugh.

"Graffiti the walls?" Pavarti Patil said. "Ginny, we've done that before, and it definitively didn't scare the Carrows." Others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right Pavarti. But this time, the things that we write are going to be different. They aren't going to be stupid and funny, like _Snape smells like shit_, and that kind of thing. They're going to be serious. Things like _You-Know-Who __will__ be destroyed, _and_ Beware of the Boy who lived._ We need to destroy their confidence. We need to shake the faith that they have in You-Know-Who." The fierceness and power in Ginny's voice made everyone stop laughing. The clock chimed 2:00.

"Okay, let's go do this for Harry."

The trip down to the third floor had gone surprisingly well. Only once did they run into someone, Alecto. But with their Disillusionment Charms, she didn't so much as turn her head their way.

They had split into three groups: Ginny leading one to the third floor, Luna leading one to the fourth floor, and Neville leading one to the sixth floor. When the students were done, they would go back to their dormitories, and in the morning they would claim innocence.

When Ginny's group got to the corridor that they would be defiling, everyone split into pairs or threesomes and got to work. Ginny had no friends in her group, so she sat down by herself and wracked her brains, trying to think of something to write. _What's something that will scare the Carrows? Something that would even scare You-Know-Who? Something that would make Harry proud?_ Ginny glanced over at the other students, busy and excited. Some had used her examples, but others had come up with their own phrases, like, _You can kill Dumbledore, but you can't kill his spirit, _and _If You-Know-Who couldn't kill Harry as a baby, how will he kill Harry now?_

_What should I do? If only…_ Ginny stood up, her heart pounding and face going cold. She had heard footsteps. She tiptoed up the corridor to where it was quieter, but the footsteps stopped. She stayed still for a few moments, but they didn't continue. Taking several deep breaths, she walked back to the other students. And then all of a sudden it came to her. _I've got it! This is perfect!_

She found a patch of bare wall and slowly began tracing the letters with her wand; they cut deeply into the stone. When she was finished, she performed a spell that made the letters glow red. _This is so good!_ she thought proudly. _It's really going to scare them!_ And then she noticed it had gotten very quiet. Just as she was about to turn around, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. Standing there was Professor McGonagall; her lips were a straight white line.

"You shouldn't have written that, Miss Weasley. Now please, up to bed, before the Carrows find this." Ginny was confused. She though that, out of all the teachers, McGonagall would have appreciated what they were doing the most. But she shrugged it off and before she left, she turned once more to admire the words that glowed red on the gray wall: _Beware of Harry Potter's secret weapon._

**Sorry that it was so short! But did you still like it? Oh and I have a Hermione/ Ginny fic (it's ****just**** about their friendship folks, nothing else!) coming out soon, so watch out for it **** Thanks!**


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